One Ring...ERRR...Cage To Rule Them All!!

I have always had a problem with monopolies. Stop...That’s not true. Monopolies are fine. I have a problem with quasi-monopolies. Monopolies that keep saying that they are not really monopolies, when they actually are. Enter Dana White and the UFC. Dana has the whole MMA on lock and in this case it’s a terrible thing. It is not about the quality of the product. Dana has a knack for giving the fans what they want. It is very rare that Dana gives us a weak card. The fights are competitive and I honestly believe the best fighters in the World are in the UFC. However, Dana makes the fights, decides who stays and who is fired, and how much the fighters are paid. You see? And that’s where I have the problem. For the amount of income generated, it seems that MMA fighters are grossly underpaid. Headlining pay per view fighters basically make about half a mil and the bottom feeders make 25 to 50k a fight.

This is the anti-thesis of what professional boxing is doing. In boxing it’s out of control in the other direction. Belts do not matter anymore, and the fighters make their own fights. If a fighter doesn’t want to fight someone, he just vacates the belt. HE is the draw, not the sanctioning body.

In the UFC, the sanctioning body is the draw and the fighter is basically a piece of meat. Chuck Lidell and others have tried to speak on this and have generally been ignored. In the UFC, you are one brutal knockout away from having no say. I thought when Chuck Lidell was bitching about how little he was paid considering the revenue of his fights that was going to get Dana to address it. Then he got knocked out in 15 seconds by Rampage and the whole argument reset.

Now here is the part where the internet marks start talking about Strikeforce, Pride and King of the Cage….err…right. There is absolutely no one in league with the UFC and their dominance on the MMA field. Dana has all of the best fighters. He has a stranglehold on the whole thing. If you have good fighters in your promotion, Dana will just take them. If your fighter stays true and stays with you, bad stuff eventually happens (Sorry Strikeforce….Fedor is probably at the end of the road). We will not even get into how hard Dana was laughing when Fedor lost after turning down the King’s offer to come to the UFC.

So, if you haven’t fallen asleep yet, you’re probably wondering what is wrong with the current state of MMA? Well, since you asked, nothing. If you want MMA to be out of the fringes…threatening, but never quite getting into the mainstream, then keep King Dana running the show. However, if your goal is to grow the sport, Dana is going to have to come up off of some of those profits and give them to the fighters. This will entice more fighters to come and bring more interest. Now, because of the popularity of MMA with the youngsters, Dana may be able to grow the sport based on some cool factor.

Kids are growing up wanting to be rappers and MMA fighters these days. John “Bones” Jones is the first generation of MMA fighters who just did MMA. Not boxers or wrestlers that converted, but a guy that went into straight MMA. However, cool factor will only get you so far. Dana will get more fighters and more interest if he raises the pay and creates a board to select fights and rankings. He will have to relinquish some control, yes, and probably lose the authority to hire and fire individuals to the UFC. Now that more and more states are allowing sanctioning of MMA fights you are going to have more and more fighters in the mix. Dana must evolve if he truly wants to grow the sport.

Yeah, there's a big problem with Dana White trying to be more Vince McMahon than Don King; not for Dana and Zuffa, but for the sport. It's awesome for Zuffa's bottom line, which I guess you can't fault anyone for doing smart business.

IMO a lot of the fault lies with the state sanctioning bodies and especially the states that won't sanction MMA like New York. This keeps MMA on the fringes and forces the political fight to be run by large businesses like the UFC.

Fighters themselves can't waste time and energy trying to get individual states to sanction MMA. As long as the political powers force MMA to the fringe then the fighters will have to rely on an organization without their best interest in mind.

The problem with the OP is that you are ignoring the fact that there is no MMA infrastructure, it's being created as we speak, with more states and countries sanctioning it.

Who is leading and paying for this? The UFC

Look at Ontario, the UFC spends millions lobbying to get MMA legalized and does what no one else can. Now they made their money back and then some but it was their money and risk at first that got it done.

The point is the UFC makes a lot of money and pumps A LOT of it back in to growing the sport.

Strikeforce wouldn't be on TV if it wasn't for the UFC paving the way.

The first season of TUF was bought and paid for by the UFC.

Complaining about the pay scale is pointless at this point because the fact that some fighters can make millions is from the UFC's hard work.

The real issue will be in about 10 years when MMA is far more established, when the 15 year old fan of today is the 25 year old consumer.

The problem is that you are assuming that MMA will continue to grow at this pace. I am not denying that the UFC has invested in MMA and it's growth. Dana is definitely working to grow the sport. My point is that he wants MMA and UFC to be indistinguishable from one another. I believe that this ultimately, will be bad for the sport unless he loosens the reigns abit. He is currently running the UFC like the WWE...the products are not the same in the least, however the 100% control of the product and pay scale are. I guess my suggestion is that UFC runs the organization more like a sanctioning body, more like boxing. Don't get me wrong, that is a slippery slope in that we don't want a deal where fighters can effectively dodge each other for years. I am confident that there is a happy medium.

However, if things stay as they are, the UFC may be in danger of losing top tier talent for an up and coming promotion with deep pockets. MMA is a small enough fraternity where it wouldn't take a whole lot to do it. Especially, for one of the boxing sanctioning bodies to suddenly become interested. Mixed Boxing/MMA cards are all the rage in California.

The problem is that you are assuming that MMA will continue to grow at this pace.

At this point, there isn't any reason to believe it won't. I cannot for the life of me understand the appeal of NASCAR and 15 years ago thought the fanbase of NASCAR was hypersaturated and was incredibly wrong. It may not grow at "THIS PACE" but it will grow. Right now, it appears the growth market is Australia.

I am not denying that the UFC has invested in MMA and it's growth. Dana is definitely working to grow the sport. My point is that he wants MMA and UFC to be indistinguishable from one another.

Of course he does, he is a smart businessman. If you look at it purely from a "fan's" perspective, he is preventing the best fights from happening. If you look at it from an "investor's" perspective, he is maximizing revenue while expanding his product's visibility and minimizing risk.

I believe that this ultimately, will be bad for the sport unless he loosens the reigns abit. He is currently running the UFC like the WWE...the products are not the same in the least, however the 100% control of the product and pay scale are. I guess my suggestion is that UFC runs the organization more like a sanctioning body, more like boxing. Don't get me wrong, that is a slippery slope in that we don't want a deal where fighters can effectively dodge each other for years. I am confident that there is a happy medium.

The happy medium will occur when another, rival company is created, grows and begins impeding upon UFC territory...if it happens.
I recall when the IBF was created. Each boxing sanctioning body creates it's own rankings, based on it's own financial gain for investors and participating promoters (read that: payoffs). The WBA and WBC might "co-promote" a card if the money makes sense or strip a champion based on something as simple as a friendly sponsoring promoter's fighter not getting a chance. It isn't what's best for boxing buy what's best for the bottom line.

If another organization gets up and running and it makes financial sense for Dana to have some manner of unification bout, he will. If he doesn't get his fighter to get the first title defense, he can and will strip his title and you will have what goes on in boxing.

It will harm the sport, tarnish the strap and the integrity of the championship, but it isn't the fighter's fault and the promotion doesn't care about that, so long as the gravy train rolls on with biscuit wheels and there is an ass every 18".

Right now, Americans are accustomed to the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL model of sports business. Euros will have the Euro Cup in soccer, World Championships in cricket...but we Americans are used to a New York baseball team holding a "World Series Title" despite only a couple of Canadian teams having competed.

However, if things stay as they are, the UFC may be in danger of losing top tier talent for an up and coming promotion with deep pockets. MMA is a small enough fraternity where it wouldn't take a whole lot to do it. Especially, for one of the boxing sanctioning bodies to suddenly become interested. Mixed Boxing/MMA cards are all the rage in California.

Once the UFC has expanded to the point of saturation, he might be worried about "the next step". Dana cut his teeth in boxing and knows something about the game, so right now, boxing hitching it's wagon to MMA is save ass and MMA hitching it's wagon to boxing is strictly business. When you have an experience boxing promoter, with all the ties and contacts and sponsors which go along with it, it is a natural fit. Boxing in Arizona is essentially controlled by John McCain, his love of the sport and his big Budweiser pockets. If he suddenly got interested in MMA, after all his shutting down of small cards in the mid/late 90's, it would be more a matter of, "Good, let him foot the bill" then a matter of "holy schnikes, John McCain is going to start his own MMA org and snatch all Megaton's fighters!"

The problem with the OP is that you are ignoring the fact that there is no MMA infrastructure, it's being created as we speak, with more states and countries sanctioning it.

Who is leading and paying for this? The UFC

Look at Ontario, the UFC spends millions lobbying to get MMA legalized and does what no one else can. Now they made their money back and then some but it was their money and risk at first that got it done.

The point is the UFC makes a lot of money and pumps A LOT of it back in to growing the sport.

Strikeforce wouldn't be on TV if it wasn't for the UFC paving the way.

The first season of TUF was bought and paid for by the UFC.

Complaining about the pay scale is pointless at this point because the fact that some fighters can make millions is from the UFC's hard work.

The real issue will be in about 10 years when MMA is far more established, when the 15 year old fan of today is the 25 year old consumer.

Regarding Ontario... I think they just made their millions back in one event!

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
- Voltaire